Unsteady
by SunaT.U
Summary: Kubo led his characters down paths that their old selves would never walk on their own. Now that they are free to wake up, they have their current lives to figure out. Nothing is right, nothing is easy, everything becomes painful. There's no right answer when they have more than ten years to reconcile with. What has Kubo done?
1. Wake up, Ichigo

Ichigo woke up. It was the ceiling, it was the temperature, the scent of the air. It was the soft mattress, the silky covers, the warm body next to him. He was out of place, out of time. Such a surreal feeling, such an unreal experience. To be so lost in one's own life. He had to keep his eyes on the ceiling to feel grounded, to feel fixed in time. The artificial ticking of the digital clock by his bedside was another point of focus. He counted the timed seconds until he lost his place in the thousands. He felt pain in his chest. Not physical pain, a wave of all the emotions that should have been contained within the confines of the past… past how long? Years, years for sure. They were all swirling around in his heart, and he had no context to give to them. What was the last thing he could remember? He was lost. He lost his place again. He should count the ticking again. He needed to fix himself in time again. He was awake, he was here, he was in _this_ moment he told himself.

Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick…

He had memories, they just bled into each other, and with blood mixed with blood, you can only tell the difference under a microscope. His clear memories were from so long ago, he couldn't be sure they were relevant to his life as it was now. It hurt. It hurt because he knew his current feelings would hurt people. His life… was it even genuinely his? It was too surreal. All of it.

How long had it been raining? Oh wait, there was no rain outside now that he focused beyond the clock. But it was like he could feel the cold of the drops falling on him through the ceiling. He needed to fix himself here again, the clock wasn't working anymore. He looked to his left. Slowly. Gently. Beautiful eyelashes, beautiful hair, beautiful face. Her face had been that close to him before, but it was the first. He was looking through her to a time before.

Inoue. But his mind told him that he hadn't called her that in a long time. Still, the other part of him was uncomfortable calling her anything else. He knew that it was inappropriate by now. A new wave of pain came to him and met his heart in a sorrowful note. With her as his new fixed point he had to restrain his tears. She was breathing softly, deeply, and the well of his heart was swelling as he watched, listened, felt.

She loved him. It hurt. It hurt so much. Why had this happened? He cared for her, so how could he have given her something disingenuous? He didn't understand the steps he had taken that brought him here. She looked so comfortable, so warm, perfectly fine with her vulnerability. This was wrong. He couldn't stay. Not right now, not while he had so much power to hurt her.

He got up feeling as if all the warmth between them was a string being stretched, fraying in the middle and tearing, being led in two different directions. He was stumbling through someone else's life, these were someone else's steps as he grabbed his wallet and walked through someone else's house to the entrance. He put a coat around his shoulders from the hall closet and stepped into shoes that fit him. The door was opened and then closed after walking through it, but he was lost in time again. He would never remember all of those steps in the dark. Certainly it was his routine from his bleeding years that got him out the door without searching. Certainly this life had been his. But he needed to abandon it.

He didn't know how to live there. In his bleeding years with his bleeding heart, how could he keep steady? He wasn't seeing the city, he couldn't see beyond his mind. He was too focused inward to see the fading lights, to hear the fading sounds, to instead see the trees, to instead hear soft chirping, the humming of a breathing forest. He was going away. Not to disappear, no. He needed to find his time, and he wouldn't come back until he could see now and look it straight in the eyes.


	2. Don't go

She was crying. The tears would not cease even if she made no noise. Even though she had sat up, he still had his arms wrapped around her waist in his sleep. She leaned forward further so that her tears wouldn't wet his arm. Did she have a reason to cry? Even looking at him she wasn't sure. Her hair was longer. When had she grown it out, and why did she decide to? She felt the ends. She abandoned her own hair to finger through his. It wasn't tied back. She supposed that made sense, they were in bed. She dropped her hand. They were in bed. Together. Was this why she cried? No, it went further, it was more. Everything was hazy. But she knew where she wanted to go.

Action. She remembered she was a woman of action. Waiting until sunrise felt impossible. She was compelled. It mattered not that she was crying, not that she had to detach the arms from around her, nor that she would disturb others for the sake of her selfish needs.

She would leave. Drop everything. It's not like she could remember what she was responsible for at the moment anyway. She only remembered what was convenient for her. She left silently. She didn't wipe her tears, she let them dry uncomfortably on her face.

* * *

Everything was off. The prestige of this house and all the fanciful furnishings left him out of place in the middle of it. There was a moment where he couldn't recognize where he was. A sense of unbelonging. It made him feel hot iron in his chest. He put his hand to his chest over his still beating heart. His mind was sifting through thoughts and his eyes glazed over as they moved in time with the world behind his glass. His heart grabbed him through his chest and bodily turned him to his right. The corner of the covers on the side of the bed next to him was folded over towards his knee. He ached at the emptiness of that sight.

He shivered as he went back to the world behind his eyes. There were many things he didn't understand. He was trying to decide if he wanted what was playing in his mind to be a dream or if he desired for it to have been real. It would help if he could tell whether it was actually real or not. No, this house he was in now could be interpreted as proof. Why else would he be here? He couldn't think of a reason. But he still needed to seek his answers.

He got up and found that his mind accurately lead him to clothing he knew was his own. He explored the house with only half his mind. He knew he was looking for Rukia, tracing his dream-like memories for her early morning frequented places. Kitchen, no. Living room, no. Meditation room, no. He found all the bathroom doors open, he looked down every hallway, nothing. The huge house was hauntingly quiet. If he were more here in the moment, surely this would raise his blood pressure and make his palms sweat. Surely he would become more anxious.

He slid open the paper thin door that led behind the house. His attention actually focused when he saw the head of the Kuchiki clan in his formal robes. He had stopped walking the wooden deck that wraps the exterior of the house and immediately met eyes with him.

"Captain." It was almost said in shock, but his mind made sense of it.

Byakuya stared him for an odd number of seconds before saying anything. "Renji."

Renji took a moment for his brain to refocus on his goal in searching the house. He realized he could solve the mystery if he asked the right question, but there was only one question his mouth spit. There wasn't so much as a thought put into it, his brain power was reoccupied and drifting once again. "Have you seen Rukia?"

"She's not here," was the perfect response for his eyes to refocus on the present, his attention caught. It wasn't a direct answer to his question, but after a few seconds of processing, deliberate, he realized. There was more meaning to be grasped if he devoted his energy that way. He meant… not that she wasn't here in the house, or in the Kuchiki compound, but that she wasn't _here_ in this world.

Byakuya would be able to tell without being told that had she left. To think, after all this time, he still can't even sense his own wife well enough to tell something like that on his own. Wait… Oh.

"Wife…" he breathed. He knew that… just that… he had misplaced that information somewhere within the clouds in his head.

"Why did you marry my sister?" he was interrupted. That question… there was an answer to it.

He spoke slowly, "Because I love her." This was the logical answer to such an illogical human construct.

"That doesn't answer my question," Byakuya told him with a straight face.

He felt that he should be confused, or even privately angry (he couldn't very well be openly angry at his own captain), but he understood what scab Byakuya was picking at. If Byakuya had let it alone for long enough, he would have made it an open wound on his own eventually. Perhaps that's why he couldn't be angry. Either way, if he attended to it, he would bleed.

He had always loved Rukia, from the very beginning. But when they were kids, they were siblings and it was that kind of love. That feeling changed when he gave Rukia over to Byakuya. But since then, at what point had he decided what the change meant? He doesn't remember. Not deciding he was in love, not their wedding, not the details of what came after that. The clear parts are all domestic in flavor. Those are warm, but not much different from their history together since ages ago. He recognized the pain from when he got up some time ago. It was the same. This was the open wound picked from his chest and made almost tangent.

Byakuya watched Renji put his hand to his chest and decided to accept that as the answer to his question. He steps closer to Renji, making him look up at him again. Renji stands in the doorway with one hand on the frame trying to hold himself up, or together, or perhaps keep himself from falling into Byakuya. He only stared, waiting to understand.

"I have tea with Rukia in the mornings while you sleep in. She keeps my favorite in your tea cabinet," Byakuya says by way of explanation.

"Oh," is all Renji manages to say. He doesn't remember anything like that but he supposes that he wouldn't if he always sleeps through it. He steps aside to let his captain pass. He doesn't exactly follow him. He gets in a few steps but then pauses and changes direction, heading back towards his room.

If he plans on leaving the house, he can't forget his rank badge and his zanpakuto. The fact that he hadn't put them on his person when getting dressed is a bit concerning, especially his zanpakuto. He'll visit the head captain. Rukia couldn't have gone anywhere with proper permission. Or at least… she wouldn't(?)

* * *

"She woke me up really early this morning, you know."

This wasn't helping. He was finally starting to feel that anxiety that was suppose to hit him much earlier. And his palms were sweating, to his credit. "So you let her leave?"

"She asked for the week off. All young people need some good rest, sometimes even more so than us old men," Shunsui smiled as if he couldn't be more at peace with that moment. "In all the time I've been head captain, she's only asked for time off for the week of your honeymoon, when she had Ichika-chan and the few times you've visited the Kurosakis. Could I say no to that? She doesn't rest enough."

He anxiety levels were increasing by the second. There were no questions like, "She didn't tell you?", "You didn't know?", "She is your wife, isn't she?" If all this anxiety was truly warranted, he needed to find her. "Where did she go?"

"The world of the living, where else?"

Yep. This was not helping his heart at all.

He started to make like he was going to go straight for the Senkaimon but Shunsui stopped him. "Renji, you can't just leave. If you want to take the week off as well, that decision lies with your captain."

He stopped in his tracks and couldn't help but wince. He had the unexplainable, or perhaps completely explainable, feeling that Byakuya wouldn't let him go after her. He just stood there half turned away from Shunsui.

"Renji, if you're both gone, who will be there for Ichika-chan?"

Renji did look up at that. He hadn't put any thought to that name in the earlier part of their conversation, but now it stood out and brought up thousands of memories to the surface of his mind. "Ichika," he said as if he just realized he should be worried about her since he left the house before taking her to school at the academy.

"Don't worry, I'm sure someone from the Kuchiki manor took her to school. But she'll want you there when she gets back, right?" Shunsui was talking sense into him gently.

Right, he couldn't leave Ichika alone without either of her parents and not say anything to her. He suddenly felt immense despair at forgetting his responsibilities as a father. For forgetting he was a father all together!

His hands started shaking at his sides. He felt pulled evenly in separate directions. He needed to find Rukia and talk to her about all that he was feeling. Though he supposed if he had time to think what he was feeling through, he'd be less likely to make a damning mess of things. But Rukia had left for a reason and that made him terrified. What was she thinking? He didn't want to know, but he needed her here instead to reassure him that… He wouldn't think about it. Not yet. On the other hand, even if he had just remembered they existed, his paternal instincts were also a strong pull.

…He knew which he had to do first. So… "I'll… go back… for now, head captain."


	3. Don't get too close

She could have gone to where she knew no one. She could have gone someplace unfamiliar, but that's not what happened in her haste and haze. She found herself landing on the top of a power line poll from memories much more familiar than those more recent. She stood there towards the outside of the city looking in. She was mesmerized by the moving light, not really looking at them but letting them blur across her dilated pupils. Her mind fell blank. Here she could be hidden and she didn't need the darkness to stay that way. But in a way, she wanted to be found. So that her heart could beat again, so that she could think again, so that the breeze, the chill, the air wouldn't make her feel dead. There was a difference between being dead and feeling dead.

She noticed without really taking note and she let her feet follow her senses. She didn't run, she walked slowly so that he would have plenty of time to sense her approach and turned away if he wished to refuse their meeting. She stopped a good five meters away from him. Close enough to see each other and carry on a conversation, but enough distance so that if anyone were to happened upon them, no one would assume they were there to sin. Ichigo wouldn't look at her. He was sitting on the forest floor against a cedar, a hand in his hair.

"You look depressed." Maybe she still wasn't thinking, maybe she wasn't awake. He didn't say anything back to her. She slowly took to sitting as well and turned so that she was facing the same direction as he was, not at each other. "If you're here too, then maybe something happened. We'll have to figure out what's happening so we can resolve this—"

"Rukia, stop talking," Ichigo cut off anything else Rukia might have said.

All she had been doing was evaluating their situation. Or half evaluating, saying things out loud numbly. She was certainly awake for him now. She stood and glared hard. He still wouldn't look at her so she made sure to communicate her look in her voice. "No! Why would I listen to someone who doesn't listen to me?"

"Stop it, Rukia!" he said a breath after she finished. "How much do you remember right now?!"

She didn't answer back, just continuing glaring.

"Maybe you should wait until you've thought about it before you say anything else."

The way he was talking to her stung a bit. It wasn't that she had said anything wrong. Was he mad that she had shown up? "Why are you angry?" That wasn't said without thought, Ichigo wouldn't be able to yell at her for it.

"Well, why did you could here? You're confused, right? You left like I did, so shouldn't you get it already?"

"Maybe I would get it if you'd look at me," she crossed arms waiting. There was silence for a while.

"No," he said firmly.

Her anger was reaching a threshold. She thought she might cross the self-imposed distance between them in order to either kick him or give him an earful, if not both. He probably look at her then. But Ichigo sighed in a way that spoke despair to her.

"Please… if you understood, then…" he trailed. "Just try to remember as much as you can first." It was a request.

She didn't know what was in her way, but she didn't want to remember anything she didn't already. He had changed his tone to speak softly to her. It gave her the sense that she was needed even if she would rather resist. She decided to sit. They still had hours before the sun would shine in their faces. If something came back to her before then, she'd let it. Either way, she could confront him again at daylight.

* * *

The rays of light were quiet and meek. She was tired and the house was chilled, yet still she sat at the kitchen table in her night shorts and a tank top leaning her forehead against laced fingers. So many things that were warm now seemed fake. Things that she had accepted she now questioned. She was confused and it wasn't fair.

She remembered a lot of things that she hadn't thought about in years. Things like wanting to be stronger, wanting to be as good as she could be at the things that she could do that no one else could. She remembered why she wanted those things too. And then, she remembered why she didn't need to feel those things anymore. It wasn't that she stopped trying hard to after it was all over, but she had different motivations. And she didn't remember how it all came to an end. How did things get so peaceful, so calm, so warm?

But something was definitely off. And she knew it because she knew the man she loves. What was wrong had to do with him. He was off. She wanted to cry. How could Ichigo have been fine without something to fight for and protect for so long? Sure he protected her in a sense to this day, but not the same way as before. What was he doing? Did he really want to work at his family's clinic forever? Was he satisfied with that? Why hadn't she thought about this before? There was something wrong. Ichigo hadn't gone to college even though he had the grades for it. He could have gotten into a good college and done something else. Instead he worked as his father's apprentice for years. Why had it never occurred to her to ask him?

If she didn't know Ichigo as well as she did, all of this would seem fine and there would be no reason for her to suspect that something was out of place. The things is, she knows his heart. Even if he says nothing, she knows.

She felt inadequate. She felt like she had somehow betrayed him for not noticing. She was upset with herself beyond reason. It was her job to know, to have and to hold. She wiped at the tears that were forming but had yet to fall. She knew that she shouldn't be so hard on herself right now. She should find Ichigo and ask him all that she needed to know. He would tell her, she was sure of it. That's what they did, that's how they had started, by telling each other even the painful things. But wait, if Ichigo had been holding this in all this time, had he told her everything? Was this—

"Mommy."

Big brown eyes turned to the small creature walking towards her from the hallway. She was shocked.

"…Kazui." Had she forgotten?

"Why do I exist?"

She was even more shocked. Had he ever asked such a thing? Was this related to…

"Come here," she motioned, keeping her composure.

When he stood next to her seat, she scooped him up into her arms and pulled him into her lap. "Everyone has a special purpose in life that only they can fulfill," she started. "Everyone wonders what that purpose is. Some people know because they decide to make it what they want, others wonder about it their whole lives and never figure it out. But nothing is ever wasted. Your life matters and it means something to someone. For example…" she paused to get ready. "You matter a whole lot to me!" She began to tickle him all over.

He giggled and squirmed over her legs. She stopped after a while when he looked like he was out of breath.

He looked up at her. "Are you happy, mommy?"

Her smile vanished again. His eyes were blank. All of this… these questions weren't coming for him. At least, she thought not. Like the mother that she is, she felt his forehead. He didn't seem too warm.

"Kazui, can you stay still for a moment?" she asked him gently.

He nodded to her. She held up her hands ready to summon her glowing power but paused. She couldn't tell for certain if anything was wrong. She and Ichigo had agreed long ago that whenever he gets hurt or sick, they would let him get better on his own. This was for two reasons, so that he would know how to deal with such things without her and so that his immune system wouldn't get weak after never having to fight anything off.

She put her hands under his arms and picked him up instead. She'd take him to a doctor. She could probably call ahead and schedule something for later today. It was still barely six. As she waited for the call to connect, a name suddenly and unexpectedly popped into her head.

"Urahara-san," she breathed.

Kazui looked curiously at her face.

* * *

A/N: Hi. A reviewer asked me to address my audience. I haven't yet because I'm... shy. But I couldn't say no when someone kindly asked me. I really do appreciate everyone who has written a review for this story. I'm not used to so much mixed attention, but it makes me feel like I'm doing something right because if something is really bad, why would anyone take time out of their day to bother with it? I kind of find it fascinating that a good number of the reviews are addressing other reviews instead of my writing or my story. I want you guys to feel comfortable saying whatever you want though, so have at it! But I feel like I'm listening in on a conversation I have no business in... or something. I hope someone enjoys this story, even if it is mostly angst.

I feel that I should also take the time to say that the end of this chapter has nothing to do with something like, "Oh, Kazui shouldn't exist so he should act really confused and blank." It has to do with something else entirely. Can't tell you what it is, but I'd love it if you would tell me your guesses or something. Thank you again. *bows*


	4. Don't be stupid

She watched the sky turn from dark to light to deep blue. It wasn't dawn like she had originally planned, the sun was high and she had dragged her knees up to met her chest. She eventually stood up.

"I understand why you're here… but why are you _still_ here?" she asked with crossed arms. She didn't ask like she was angry at him, but her body language was… defensive and defiant.

Ichigo finally looked over at her. "Don't ask me questions that you should be asking yourself," he countered.

Rukia didn't even finch, like she was prepared for it. "I took the week off, the senkaimon won't open for me until next Friday. Unless, of course, there's an emergency that requires the captains' strength. What about you? Are you ditching work?"

Ichigo looked away again.

"What about Orihime? Shouldn't you go back to her so that she doesn't worry?"

"I can't." Ichigo said it with force.

Rukia thought she could tell what was going on in his head. After all, she didn't feel like she could go back either, regardless of Soul Society's strict scheduling. She gave him a moment before trying to force an answer out of him. "Why not?"

"Because I don't want to hurt her."

"Isn't disappearing and not coming back hurting her now?" Rukia refuted.

"That's not what I mean. Right now I don't know what I'll do or what I'll say, so until I know, I can't go back," he reaffirmed.

Rukia frowned. "Don't be stupid, whatever you might say, she can take. Orihime's not so fragile a person that she'd break when you say something idiotic. You say idiotic things all the time. Didn't she wait for your attention for years? Clearly she didn't give up," Rukia was going to say more.

"Shut up! Don't act like this is easy or like it's no big deal! It's not that I think I'll say something wrong, I just…" he slowed down. "I don't know if I can say something right."

Oh. Well that hit her through the chest. A lance chilling her spine. She didn't know what she'd say when she went back either. What could she say? How could she communicate what she was feeling and why? She didn't understand fully to begin with. Although she remembered a lot of things now, she didn't know why they happened that way. She knew the answers but not the reasons. You can't teach others without understanding the 'why'. Sheep leading sheep. But humans tend to have more wisdom to offer others than themselves. "Tell her the truth, that can't be wrong."

"No, but it is right?"

"Why?"

"Because the truth can change over time."

She understood. "No, what once was truth will always be truth of that moment." Those were words of comfort that, perhaps, only Ichigo was capable of understanding the true meaning. She wasn't actually refuting him in the moment, but reassuring him that a time would come when he had the words. Still, she felt more lost after telling him that than she had been before. Surely if words came to him, they would also come to her. She seemed to have more words than he did on a regular basis. But, when it came to herself, she was somehow less sure. It was easy to hope for others, but frightening territory to hope for herself.

They were silent again. Rukia got tired of standing and sat back down. After a while, "What about your kid?"

"Orihime is… a good mother." Clearly he was pulling up fuzzy memories. "What about yours?"

Rukia thought for a moment. "She's tough… But I guess… I don't want to her hurt either." She flashed Ichigo a smile that looked like she was in pain.

Ichigo turned to her. "So we are the same."

She processed what he could mean. "As much as I hate the idea, yeah. I'm as much of an idiot as you are." She didn't spit it like an insult. It was more like she had sighed to herself. "So, if we aren't going back yet, what are we going to do? If all we do is sit here and think, we'll kill ourselves, won't we?" she smiled. Again, it was painful.

Ichigo had thought a bit about what to do. "Figure out what happened. You weren't wrong last night. If this affected both of us at the same time in different worlds, something had to have happened."

"Right! So first we need to figure out if there's anyone else who's been affected." Now that they were finally talking about something more immediately productive, her brain was singing in rejoice at fluid thought instead of the viscous mess that only turned about repeatedly all night and morning long. This was free flowing. "Also, what's the last thing you can remember clearly?"

Great. Now Ichigo would have to order his memories again. He breathed in and out deeply as if he were meditating. "I think it was when the Zero Division was healing us. Or… no, Nimaiya let me choose an Asauchi. Somewhere around there I think."

Rukia thought for a moment too. "I do have memories of the Soul King Palace. And not much that's clear beyond that, I think. And if that's the case, we could indeed be affected by the same thing."

"So then, who else might have been affected?"

"You mean besides Renji and Orihime?"

Ichigo didn't give a verbal answer.

"How about anyone who was around after we went to the Soul King Palace?" This was admittedly a good place to start.

Ichigo knew the answer immediately but he was reluctant. "The hospital where Ishida works is on the other side of town," he finally conceded. That would be the easiest person to find out of the… many _others_.

"Great!" Rukia stood. "Then let's go." Ichigo stood slowly as well. Rukia watched him carefully and had a thought. "You have to walk, don't you?"

Ichigo looked at her like she was dumb. "In this body, yes."

* * *

A/N: I wanted to give an extra thanks to Chuain, Aaina, , Alternate and katrum. You each have contributed to making my last two days. Thank you very much.

Also, to Alternate, although I can't say that any of what you've said has changed the direction I plan on taking this story, I don't think you'll be disappointed in certain regards. I think I look forward to your reviews the most though. You're very honest and the most consistent reviewer I have. Thank you again. *bows*


	5. Come with us

His hands were shaking. He gathered water in cupped palms and rinsed his face.

His hands were shaking. His chopsticks fumbled again on their way to his mouth.

His hands were shaking. He slipped them into his pockets as he passed through the automatic doors.

"This is for Hanada-san's medication." His signature stretched out its limbs, bent and broken.

"The patient is now prepped." He accepted the scalpel gently thrust into his line of sight.

His hands were shaking. He looked down at the area of skin he was hovering over. He realized something. He was shaken. "Call the surgeon on call," he mumbled as he discarded the scalpel on the instrument tray and fled from the room. All the medical professionals in the room looked on in shock.

"Doctor Ishida! Doctor Ishida! Where are you going?!" That was the wrong question.

He went to the bottom level lobby where people could wait for friends and family to be released. He couldn't think of another place to go. No one followed him all the way. Probably because no one wants a surgeon who can't kill his nerves. There was worked to be done. No time for flakes. No time for him. Not as he is now. No, no, no, no, no! What was he doing?! He was angry, but he could not bring himself to show it in this environment. He sat down in a chair next to no one else. He hung his head and laced his finger. They wouldn't stop shaking.

He had come here in a daze. He had done everything just like normal. _This_ was normal?! What was he doing?! _Why?!_ He was angry, but he was also confused. He hated the idea of being here, hated the idea of working here. A scalpel in his hand, how could he? If he hadn't left, would he have cut into that person's skin? And then what? How had he gotten through this routine like this? Had his senses grown dull until now? Had his emotions vanished? He was too angry for words and too confused to understand the reason for it. Was he angry at himself? His father? Probably both. …No, most definitely both.

He couldn't remember anything beyond himself. His mind was insulated, nothing new could get in. He sat there for ages. He felt a decade pass him by as he sat there, not keeping up. And he sat and sat and sat. His hands were still shaking. Would they never stop?

* * *

They were an unnaturally far distant apart. Rukia was the one to come up to him. Her sandaled feet with traditions socks appeared at the edge of his vision. For her, he looked up. She had a deep frown and furrowed brows when he saw her face. She bent her knees and leaned her hands on them so that her face was level with how hunched over he was.

"You're not the only one."

He couldn't process what she had said. His frown must have reached for a different set of emotions because Rukia's also shifted.

"Want to come with us?" she asked softly.

He looked from her to Ichigo still standing near the entrance. He too was frowning at the ground. "Kuchiki-san?"

Something flickered through her face and he knew he did something wrong.

She responded slowly, "Why don't you call me Rukia?"

He stared at her eyes wondering why she would ask him that. "No, I couldn't possibly do that," he looked down again.

That felt more like him than anything else Rukia had seen of him so far. "What if I also call you by your given name? That's a fair trade."

He stared at her feet, he wasn't even considering it. They were never that close. They hardly ever spoke directly to one another. It wasn't such a simple thing to call someone by their given name in Uryuu's culture. Perhaps Rukia realized that he would need more convincing, a compelling reason.

"We need all the allies we can get," she stated simply and tilted her head.

That was what made the first sentence she had spoken click. He sat up straight. "You've been experiencing something similar?"

She nodded to him.

"For how long?" he asked her, much clearer than he had been all day.

"Since the early morning hours for me. I think it's the same for Ichigo but it could have been earlier for him."

He separated his hands and let blood circulate through them. He bowed his head slightly so he wouldn't have to look at her. "Thank you… Rukia-san."

He was difficult for Rukia to understand. They were friends in name but that was more so because of their involvement with Ichigo. But she thought that perhaps he was thanking her for coming to find him, or maybe for offering a steadier hand, so to speak.

"Just Rukia." Whether he understood that that was her way of telling him 'you're welcome' or not didn't matter as long as she meant it. "Will you come with us?" she asked again.

He didn't need to ask where. If those two had stopped bickering long enough to get a move on, they were ready to start figuring things out. He stood and walked with her to the doors. She placed herself on the opposite side of him as Ichigo approached to fall in step. He thought he now understood the unnatural distance between them. It was intentional.

"Ishida, are you okay?"

Rukia glared at Ichigo from across Uryuu. "Call Uryuu, Uryuu," she insisted.

Ichigo was surprised to hear her say that. He looked between her and Uryuu for reactions. "That's between me and him," he decided.

Rukia dropped her glare and watched in front of them so she could direct their path instead. She knew that already.

"So?" Ichigo redirected his voice to Uryuu.

"Of course not, this is hell."

That was much more direct than either Ichigo or Rukia had expected. That wasn't what Ichigo would describe the feelings he had as. He and Rukia both realized that what Uryuu was feeling was different. They wouldn't be able to understand his feelings. Ichigo felt ill-equipped to handle his emotions. Suppose that friendship meant bearing all that the other couldn't. Would this work out?

"Uryuu?" Rukia chewed on a thought.

They both looked over at her.

"You don't have to do anything you don't want to. Not ever," she stated with some force. "But sometimes people will need you to." Perhaps Rukia would make a good friend. But she was still being awfully presumptuous.

"You don't have to say anything right now. I already know."

"Sure, but you needed someone else to say it for you."

He humphed, "I'm not Kurosaki."

"Hmm," Rukia pretended to think about it. "I guess you're right."

Ichigo frowned again. This couldn't be good.

* * *

A/N: I feel a bit sad right now. Just before uploading this a guest reviewer told me the equivalent of that I should kill myself. I suppose this gives me the smallest glimpse at how someone like Kubo might feel, so it can't be all bad if I grow in understanding of other people. It's a bit funny though because that person completely misunderstood the purpose of this story. Oh well.

I'd like to give an extra thanks to Andrey258, Alternate, DheyL and Kenny5243 for being so kind to me. You each make me smile and I am so grateful. *bows*


	6. Forgive them

"I want mom!" she stubbornly refused to even look his way.

"I told you, she's not here. Why don't you tell me what happened?" he asked again as patiently as he could.

"I don't want to tell you, I want to tell mom!" she was clearly very distraught. As far as he could tell, she hadn't been crying, but something clearly had happened.

"Was it something at school?" he guessed.

She had her arms and legs both crossed as she sat on her futon. He had remained in the doorway leaning his back on the frame. He wanted her to feel like she had her own space. In this state, he thought it was best if she came over to him.

"Yes, but I'm not telling you what!"

There! She finally gave him some information. He could play this game if that's what it took. "Then… was someone mean to you?" he probed.

"…No. Not _someone_ ," she hinted.

"More than one person?"

"Yes."

He thought about his next question. "Was it some older kids?"

"Some of them."

Some of them? The vast majority of students at the academy were older than her. In fact, he hadn't even known for sure if there were any kids younger than she was. "Did you know them?"

Uh-oh. Even though he couldn't see her expression, he knew this was bad. Her head dropped a bit.

"…Yes," she said with more sadness and hurt than anger this time.

Hit the nail on the head. "What did they do to you?"

"I want mom," she sounded much more broken.

No, that was it, he wouldn't stay in the doorway any longer. He went to her and wrapped her up in his arms even if she seemed unwilling. "Ichika." All he did was speak her name and hold her.

"No~," she whined. "You don't understand, dad!" She turned in his arms so that she could point her defiant eyes at him. Tears slipped past her guard though, revealing to him her true feelings he already knew. "My friends, even one of the teachers, they were all pretending they didn't remember who I was! They looked at me like I was crazy when I tried to talk to them like I always do―" she stopped to sniffle and take a breath. "And then when the history teacher took attendance, she acted like she didn't recognize my name and made me introduce myself to the class!" she started crying harder.

Her friends forgot her? Much like he had just this morning? He couldn't imagine what it would feel like to be forgotten by the people you love. He tried not to show how much this hurt him. He hugged her closer to him again. He hugged her tight in hopes that his feelings and his love would be made apparent to her. She was his pride and joy. And since becoming a father, he truly understood what that phrase meant. The relationship of parent and child was unique and to be cherished. She was more precious to him than anything else in his life. Even with hazy memories, he could be sure of that. Which is exactly why it was unfathomable that he would ever forget her, even for a moment. He didn't have the heart to be angry at himself for it. All that was there was just… sadness. Sweeping sadness that tied him in knots and blew him away like dust. A useless struggle to fight that.

"Ichika, I can't change what your friends did, but you'll be hurt forever if you don't forgive them. I know you don't want to hear that and I'm sure your mom could find better words to help you, but I don't want you to stay hurt. The things people say and do to you only have power over you for as long as you let them. I'm not saying that you have to forgive your friends now, I think that there are times when it's okay for us to be hurt. But if you wake up tomorrow and you still feel hurt, it'll be a lot harder to forgive them later on. And… forgiving them doesn't mean you have to stay friends with them," he said softly from his heart.

He had no way to know exactly what to do like Rukia always does. In fact, she'd probably go to the school and demand an apology from everyone their daughter pointed at. But the thing was, it might be better for Ichika if she made new friends instead. If her friends had forgotten her for the same reasons he had, then it was possible that they would remember her again. But they had all seen her today and it seems nothing came to mind. He had only forgotten her until she had been brought to his attention. He was worried that they may never remember her. And if that were the case, Ichika would have to start over with them. To think, how hard would that be on her, on anyone, to remember so much time spent with a person and not have them remember a thing? There wasn't anything he could really do for her about that.

Ichika didn't say anything in response to him, but she did wrapped her own arms around him as far as they could reach. They held on to each other for a while until Ichika only sniffled. Eventually she pulled away first but she let herself stay in her father's lap.

"But I can't just not be friends with them anymore," she told him like he was stupid.

"Why not?" he didn't see why she couldn't.

"Because, ugh! I told you, you wouldn't understand! It's a girl thing, that's why I wanted mom!"

A girl thing? Or is she just saying that? "How can I understand if you don't try to explain it to me?"

She made some sounds like she was unwilling but still gave in. "There's only one other kid my age in the entire academy! I barely have any friends at all because no one wants to 'babysit' me!" she said it like it was disgusting. "I thought my friends didn't care about my age," she mumbled. "But even if I tell them that we're no longer friends, everyone will just pretend like nothing happened by next week or I'll make enemies for life!"

"Ichika."

"And there's no way I'm losing the one person there who's my age," she said in a voice that was more like she was hurt again.

"Ichika."

She huffed and looked at him.

"Try to understand them and if you can't, then you have to move on for your own sake," this was a compromise of sorts. He realized that he couldn't just ask her to get rid of her friends. "I know this is hard for you because you only ever listen after the fact. Unfortunately, you got that from both your mom and me which makes it doubly hard for you. But I want you to try your hardest if you really want to stay friends with them. If you do that and you understand them, it might not hurt so bad."

If it turned out they did remember her eventually, Ichika would need all the understanding in the world to forgive them for actually forgetting her. That had to be a much worse thing than pretending to have forgotten. If he were to look inward right now, he'd crumble.

Ichika considered it for a while. "I'll try," she conceded.

"Good," he smiled at her.

He took her hair out of the hair tie it was pulled up into and combed through it with his fingers. It must have felt good because his daughter closed her eyes at the feeling.

"When will mom get back from work?" she asked softly.

He needed to start with the truth. "Mom isn't at work."

Ichika opened her eyes. "Where is she?"

He needed to continue with the truth. "She's in the world of the living."

"Why?"

He needed to end with the truth. "I don't know why, but I think she's visiting the Kurosakis."

Ichika looked betrayed. "But why didn't she tell me? Why'd she go so suddenly? And why don't you know for sure?"

Ichika was old enough that she'd understand any of the worst case scenarios he could think of. But he didn't want to think about those and he didn't want her to think about them either. "Everything's fine, you don't have to worry. She'll be back soon. Even if we don't like to listen to people, we at least listen to each other. So Ichika," he continued to stroke her red hair. "Don't worry. Please."

She probably understood more of what was in his voice than he wanted her to, but she seemed to accept his plea. She hugged him around his neck and he suddenly felt comforted by her.

* * *

A/N: I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I'm not sure why but I particularly like this chapter so I hope you all enjoyed it.

To Alternate, James, Andrey258, Ice Maiden Olivier and yeahbuddy2256, you guys really are too amazing. Thank you very much. *bows*


	7. Let me

They were sitting in a restaurant, that's where they really were. "You're not gonna eat anything?" Ichigo.

He was looming over the operating table.

"Are you stupid?" That was Rukia. She was looking across the dining table from her side of the booth at Ichigo like she couldn't believe he had just asked her that.

His hands were steady as he held the scalpel with some version of confidence and lightly made an incision along the drawn line across someone's abdomen.

"What's that supposed to mean?! I was just asking you a question!" Ichigo didn't see how he could have done anything wrong.

Blood beaded beautifully in a crisp line as he handed the scalpel off and used a tool to separate skin and skin.

"What? You didn't notice the waitress only bring two glasses of water to the table? Or that no one but us has looked at her? Or what she's wearing? She has to have a body to eat here, you know." Uryuu may have been otherwise preoccupied, but he was listening to them. He might have understood why they have been arguing every time they spoke to each other since he'd left the hospital with them. It made for an excellent distraction. It only worked in part, of course. That's probably why they kept doing it. Ichigo hadn't noticed any of that, the possibility wasn't even on his mind. Now that he actually looked at any part of her other than her face, yes, her uniform gave it away.

He was in another room, looming over another operating table.

"Just so you know, I brought provisions of my own. I wouldn't want you to worry," she was mocking him.

He made an incision along someone's arm.

"Oh, yeah?" Ichigo raised an eyebrow at her.

He cut along a leg.

"Where do you keep them then?"

Down a chest.

"I don't see a bag anywhere."

Along someone's back.

Ichigo asked his questions maybe out of concern, maybe because it was something present to poke and bicker about.

He picked up the scalpel.

"I have pockets, _mom_."

That was… that word was a curse to each of them. Although there was an effect, Ichigo and Rukia both ignored it, carrying on with Present. Uryuu, however, was brought back to where he always ended up after his memories started mixing.

"You have pockets?"

He was standing in the frame in his father's shadow. But a shadow could not shield him from seeing.

"Of course! Shinigami are assigned to look after an area of the living world all the time. How did you think we survive a month at a time here?"

He stood where his father was, soles matching soles, a thousand times over.

"Then why doesn't my uniform have pockets?"

He picked up the scalpel.

"I don't know! You've always worn that in soul form, we change into ours!"

He picked up the scalpel.

"Are you sure yours doesn't have pockets?" He wasn't.

At this point, even their pointlessly terrible conversation wasn't enough to hold Uryuu there. Incision after incision, he always looked up to see his mother. Dead, not living. Not in any condition where he could help her by cutting her open. It was mutilation.

His routine was concrete in his mind. There was no hesitation, nothing to think about. He didn't even know if he _had_ been thinking for the past decade! How could he have always picked up that shitty scalpel? How could his hands have been so steady? How could there have been no doubt in his aim?! There's no doubt where there's no thought. His life felt like an endless loop. He was trapped in this loop even now. That he was physically away from his loop didn't make any difference to his psyche.

He was supposed to be working on something important. He had been given a mission. He had to remember the most recent event in his clear memories. Rukia had told him that her and Ichigo's clearest memories were from around the same time. They wouldn't tell him what their memories were because they didn't want to affect his. This was impossible. Although he did have memories that were much clearer than the ones swimming in front of his eyes to blind him, he could only focus on… well the ones swimming in front of his eyes blinding him.

Did he have a choice in this? Although he would like to believe he always had a choice, it was more convenient at the moment to say, no, no he didn't.

He was temporarily rescued as something broke through his memory fish.

"Do you think Chad is like us? I think I should call him," Ichigo was looking over at Rukia for confirmation.

"We know it's affected at least three people. I don't think it would be a mistake to check on him," she agreed. For once. When had they stopped bickering? And when had the atmosphere turned so serious and careful?

Ichigo turned his eyes to Uryuu. "I don't have my cellphone with me," he admitted. That probably warranted some questions, but there wasn't enough focus on the broader things even between the three of them for any of those questions to surface. For the moment, at least.

Uryuu pulled his phone out of his pocket without thinking it through. "I don't have Sado-kun's contact." Why he didn't was a question he didn't know the answer to.

"That's fine, I know it. Give it here," Ichigo held out his hand for Uryuu's phone.

Although Uryuu gave it to him without complaint, when Ichigo slid out of the booth to take it outside, he heard a "pfft" from one of the two across the table from him. Both of them seemed to be trying extremely hard to hold back laughter. Or their breaths. Maybe they'd pass out and Ichigo wouldn't have to deal with whatever they had found in him to mock.

But, he was still going to ask, "What?"

Rukia chuckled with restraint as she tried to speak. "It's just that— no one memorizes anyone's number these days," she chuckled a bit more.

"And you remember it even despite your current circumstances," Uryuu continued for her, not exactly laughing himself but something close to it behind his hand.

Ichigo stared between the two of them. Were they… really getting along so easily?

"It's— it's almost cute!" Rukia finished.

Nope. He was not staying for this. He walked straight out the front door without looking back at either of them. In different ways, they both liked seeing him react. The two of them being "friends" or whatever was very bad.

He ignored the fact that they were probably still laughing at him and walked until he knew he couldn't be seen through any of the windows in the restaurant. Uryuu's phone didn't have a password protecting it. He wondered if there was a reason for that, but his question may have been answered as he looked for the dialer on the touch screen. There wasn't much on the phone to being with.

He typed in Chad's phone number and held it to his ear. There was a reason he remembered Chad's number. In all the years he'd known him, the man's number had always been the same and it used to be that they would call each other if they needed someone to have their back. At least, that was the intention. There were hardly any times where either of them actually called the other for anything. But it was something Ichigo kept in the back pocket of his mind.

"Hello?" he was greeted from the other end of the line.

"Chad."

There was some silence. "…Ichigo," Chad clearly knew who he was without anymore needing to be said.

Ichigo struggled with how to say any of what he needed to. "Hey, um…" he broke off for a bit to try again. "…How are you?" he asked, dancing around what he really wanted to know.

Chad's response didn't actually answer his question directly, but it probably said more than a direct answer would have. "I'm at the airport."

Ichigo was a bit stunned, figuring out what Chad was telling him. "Ah. Are you planning on coming home? Oh, uh, you haven't been living in Japan for a while now. Then, are you coming here? Or somewhere else? I guess you could go wherever you wanted. Why are you at the airport?" Ichigo rambled awkwardly as he kept remembering other things and becoming unsure of others.

"I have a flight to Narita tonight." The way Chad was choosing to answer him with a blank tone gave him the feeling he was answering all his questions at once.

"Okay. Have a place to stay?"

"Not yet."

Ichigo thought for a minute. Or more like, he had the idea already but needed time so that it didn't seem like he had planned this out. "I'm with Ishida and Rukia. We could take the shinkansen and meet you."

"Okay," Chad accepted. "Ichigo?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you okay?"

Ah. They had been friends for a long time. There weren't always many words spoken between them, but what words were spoken mattered. "I will be," he answered.

A/N: Thank you to everyone who's been reading this. I wish you all good things this year and in years to come. *bows*

* * *

To Andrey258, for now I'll tell you that I don't plan on having the characters learn that they're a part of a manga. I'll not sure I could think of a way to pull that off in a believable fashion. Also, I think the way you reply to all the other reviewers is... (for lack of a better word) cute. I do appreciate you.

To Ice Maiden Olivier, I'm very glad my writing could bring a smile to your face, knowing that also brings a smile to mine. And to yeahbuddy2256, I feel very honored by what you have said. The reason I love writing is because of its strange ability to communicate feeling. Thank you all very much. I hope hear from everyone again. *bows*


	8. Go already

She rang the doorbell and waited. The nerves in her chest were fraying at the ends. She was anxious to get moving and not as excited about seeing the person on the other side of the door as she ought to be. She wanted to leave as soon as possible. It wasn't that she hadn't missed her friend or that she'd be any closer to a solution the faster she left, but with all the things in her life that suddenly became tilted, the only hope she had of not sliding down was to keep her momentum. Running, climbing, crawling, anything it took she would keep at it.

The door opened and she was greeted. "Orihime, glad you found your way!"

She didn't actually hear the greeting as Tatsuki's voice had been masked over by loud screaming from behind her. Orihime's attention was also split by the feeling of Kazui slipping his hand out of hers so that he could dash inside the house. Orihime remembered to stick a smile on her face when Tatsuki dodged her son to let him pass her.

"Hi, Tatsuki."

Tatsuki's attention was also split as she watched her own children run up to meet Kazui, or at least two of them. The third was caught by her husband and carried back down a hallway.

"Not yet, mister. We gotta put a shirt and pants on you."

The boy whined and yelled that he wanted to play. Tatsuki sighed at all the noise.

"Um, thank you again for watching Kazui today. I know your kids always keep you busy as it is," Orihime spoke with more awkwardness than she had with Tatsuki since they'd first met.

Tatsuki seemed to ignore that and smiled at her like she was plotting something. "It's all right, just as long as you plan on repaying me by babysitting my kids later. Besides, I've got a house full of boys, one more doesn't make that much of a difference. It should be the same for you too, right?"

Orihime smiled a little easier in response. "Maybe, but three more really does make a difference."

Tatsuki laughed and that eased some of the tension in her body even more. Well, at least until a line from Tatsuki's oldest had both their heads turning to the children in the living room.

"You're weird!" That was directed at Kazui. The boy had come in looking at everything curiously, and now his expression was no different, totally unaffected by the other kid's words. In fact, Kazui was staring at him like he was enrapturedly fascinating.

"Isao! Don't be rude to a guest, he doesn't have to play with you, you know!" Tatsuki looked like she might have yelled at her son even more, but her expression changed as she observed Kazui. She frowned like she was grieving, not something Orihime appreciated.

"Manabu, I'll come back in in a minute," she called to her husband as she stepped out the door and closed it behind her. She stood there with Orihime, looking at her with that same frown on her face.

There was no way Orihime could keep up a smile when faced with that look. It crumbled on her face and fell off.

"Is he okay?" Tatsuki asked.

Orihime took a deep breath in. "I don't think so."

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know. I don't even know if anything really is wrong yet. I took him to our pediatrician yesterday and he said that nothing is physically wrong with him. He didn't even seem to understand why I'm so concerned."

"Well he can't know your kid like you do. You should listen to your gut in times like these," Tatsuki took on a slightly angry expression.

Orihime was grateful, at the very least, that Tatsuki also thought something could be wrong. They didn't actually see each other often anymore. Tatsuki lived in the next town over, and with each having their own respective husbands and children, it was understandable that they lived very separate lives. It was nice though, that Tatsuki would always be her dependable best friend.

"I know," she agreed. "That's why I have a feeling that this could be worse."

'Worse than what?' others might ask, but Tatsuki could read Orihime without further elaboration. "You think it's inside?"

Orihime nodded. "Both Ichigo and I are very aware of our own souls and Kazui's also a shinigami. I think it's his soul."

Tatsuki nodded slowly without knowing what to say next.

Orihime helpfully filled in for her. "I'm going to go look for help today. Do you remember Urahara-san? I don't know if he'll be able to help, but I think he'll know how to get help."

"Will you take Kazui to Soul Society?" Tatsuki knew for a fact that Kazui had never been.

"If I have to, then I will. They have doctors there, so if something really is wrong, they might be able to tell."

Tatsuki paused the conversation for a moment by holding up a finger between them. "Orihime, why haven't you used Soten Kisshun on him?" That was Orihime's quote-on-quote 'healing ability.'

Orihime looked a bit unsure, herself. "I don't know if anything happened yet," was the answer she gave.

"It won't hurt him to try it, right? If the doctors here can't help you, doesn't that make this the most appropriate time to use your power?" Tatsuki persisted.

"I don't want to use my power for 'what ifs.' And… I have a bad feeling about it. I almost did use Soten Kisshun, but then, I realized that I had moved to do it without any thought at all. That's not something that's ever happened before. With Kazui in specific, I mean. So I think… it could be something wrong with me instead."

This was possible, Tatsuki reasoned. Kids picked up on things more acutely than she had ever expected before she became a parent. It could be that Kazui was responding to something having changed in his environment. Still, she wasn't going to dismiss his behavior.

"Okay… then I agree that you should seek out Urahara," she conceded. She sighed. "You can drop Kazui off here whenever you need, okay? I'll keep an extra eye on him and update you."

Orihime didn't even bother trying to smile. "Thank you." Pause. "Oh," she picked up the bag she had set at her feet and handed it over to Tatsuki. "This is anything I thought Kazui might need or want while I'm gone."

Tatsuki scratched at her hair. "Right," she mumbled in response. "Um, Orihime?" She waited for acknowledgement that she was being listened to. "I have a question and I want you to promise not to take it the wrong way if the answer is yes. I don't really know why I feel like I have to ask, but I promise you I don't mean anything by it," she explained.

Orihime looked hesitant to agree to the terms and conditions, probably because of the way Tatsuki had gone to too much length.

"It's only because I care and not because I'm suspicious of anything. And… because I've also had a weird feeling."

At that, Orihime immediately started to suspect something herself. She nodded her consent.

"Okay," Tatsuki took a breath. "Is everything okay between you and Ichigo?"

In Orihime's mind: suspicion confirmed. "Are you asking that because you've felt weird for a while? Is your memory weird?" she asked with haste.

Tatsuki seemed taken aback. "Uh, yeah, I think that's it."

"So it's not just me," Orihime breathed in a whisper. She forgot completely about where she was and who she was with as her mind drifted elsewhere. "So then Ichigo could have…"

Tatsuki observed her for a while as she tried to piece together what Orihime was thinking about. "So then…" Tatsuki started firmly in order to get back Orihime's attention. "You and Ichigo?" she lead.

Orihime came up short for an answer. "I haven't had a chance to talk to him since I woke up feeling strange. I don't know what he's up to, but he's with Rukia."

"Rukia?" Tatsuki's eyebrows furrowed even further. "How do you know that?"

"Depending on the distance, I can sense them."

"…Oh, right." How had Tatsuki forgotten that?

"I think they were with Ishida-kun last night too," Orihime thought aloud in an airy kind of way.

"Ishida? Really?" Tatsuki's gears were turning too. "They're getting the old group together?"

Orihime's face went from contemplative to slack. "You might be right. If they realized that they're all experiencing the same thing, they'd come together to try and figure things out."

"Do you think this is related to Kazui?"

Orihime's face became even more awed at the revelations unfolding before her overworked brain. It appeared Tatsuki had less earth-shattering revelations to contemplate if Orihime's brain had to play catch-up to her. "That could be it," she didn't want to solidify any one possibility in her mind that it shut out all others.

Tatsuki looked angry again. "Ichigo should be here with you."

"I know," Orihime didn't make excuses. "He should be and if he knew that something was wrong with Kazui, I'm sure he would be," she stated resolutely. She made sure to give Tatsuki that one look that said she didn't want to discuss it any further.

Tatsuki may not have been satisfied, but she dropped it.

Orihime had another that though. "Was your husband affected at all?"

"Manabu? No, not that I can tell. He acted just like always. He'd tell me if he felt off," she said, confident in their ability to talk to one another.

"Then it's person specific. So it has to be from a shared event or exposure. Not necessarily at the same time, but it seems everyone reacted at around the same time," she mumbled as she pressed the nail of her thumb to her lips.

Tatsuki had been able to tell this whole time that Orihime was eager to get out of there and she knew she was holding the woman up. "Go already," Tatsuki slung the bag in her hand over her shoulder and turned to her door. "Text or call if you need anything, I'll do the same," she ordered.

Orihime only nodded.

* * *

A/N: Hello. Thank you for showing up, dear readers. I can't promise that my update schedule will go back to being consistent. After all, I have work and school as well as other obligations. I hope that you all understand and in the mean time, I'd appreciate any feedback you have to offer.

I will also try to be less confusing when I write scenes that go back and forth between two points of focus. I had never noticed before that that wasn't a thing normal writers did in their stories. Oops. Thank you for letting me know. *bows*


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